Sibley woman dies in NW Iowa crash

A Sibley woman is dead and two others are hospitalized following a two-vehicle broadside crash south of Rock Rapids yesterday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened just before 4:00 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Hickory Avenue and 210th Street. According to state troopers, nineteen-year-old Tristan Smith of Rock Rapids was driving an SUV northbound when he allegedly ran a stop sign, colliding with an eastbound Jeep driven by sixty-nine-year-old Steven Ludwig of Sibley. A passenger in the Jeep—seventy-three-year-old Joanne Klaassen of Sibley—sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Both drivers were rushed by ambulance to Avera Merrill Pioneer Hospital in Rock Rapids. Ludwig was later airlifted by Sanford AirMed to Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls due to the severity of his injuries. Both vehicles were listed as a total loss. The crash remains under active investigation by the Iowa State Patrol, with assistance from the Lyon County Sheriff's Office and local emergency crews.